Maties send ominous warning

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Cape Town - Former Varsity Cup champions, Maties, made their 2012 intentions clear with a superb 52-2 opening-round win over the TUT Vikings in Stellenbosch on Monday evening.

The Men in Maroon - winners of the Varsity Cup between 2008 and 2010, before surrendering their title last year - scored seven tries to nil after racking up a 26-2 half-time lead.

One would always expect a wing, or perhaps a centre, to come away with a brace of tries in a big win like this, but it was giant lock Grant Hattingh who was smiling more than most after collecting a hat-trick of tries.

And, not far behind an elated Hattingh was giant prop - and the aptly nicknamed - Os Hamman who, excuse the pun, weighed in with a brace of tries.

The Vikings arrived at the Danie Craven Stadium with a point to prove, after a dismal 2011 Varsity Cup campaign, and they took an early 2-0 lead after a series of Maties errors handed flyhalf Hansie Graaff a shot at goal. (Remember, of course, the change in scoring this year - two points for a penalty or a drop-goal and three points for a conversion.)

That, however, was to be the visitors' only points on the night as Chean Roux's charges took things up a level - firstly through centre Wessel Coetzee (the eventual Man of the Match) who ran a brilliant line off his inside centre Louis Jordaan to register the hosts' first points.

Hattingh's first try soon afterwards made it 16-2 and when Hamman crashed over - to make it 24-2 - it was basically game, set and match already.

Flyhalf André Kemp had added all three first-half conversions and his first penalty of the night made it 26-2, before missing two conversions in the second half as the two H's, Hattingh and Hamman, scored again to make it 36-2.

Hattingh's hat-trick score, converted this time, made it 44-2 and the rest of the match was a bit disappointing as the Maties butchered a number of try-scoring opportunities.

However, the game did end on a high for the men in Maroon as replacement flyhalf André Smith - a new recruit in Matie-land - crossed for their seventh try before full-time, with replacement scrumhalf Donald Stevens converting.

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